Charges of Judicial Activism in Europe

Judicial activism was a core issue in the Senate hearings on President Bush’s Supreme Court appointments. It has also become an issue in the debate about the future of the European Union (EU). Indeed, judicial activism at the European Court of Justice (ECJ) may be one factor in popular dissatisfaction with the European constitution. Several months ago, the new President of the European Council of Ministers, Austrian Chancellor Wolfgang Schuessel, called for a rethink over the role of the ECJ, which he said had “systematically extended European competences into areas where there was decidedly no European law.” He cited decisions of the court concerning the role of women in the German army and access of nonnationals to Austrian universities....